Cellular Basics

Plant Cell Basics

Do all plant cells contain chloroplasts?

No, not all plant cells contain chloroplasts; for example, onion and garlic plant cells do not have chloroplasts—and neither do the underground roots of plants. Another example is the meristem—the rapidly dividing undifferentiated plant tissue cells found in places where the plant can grow. These cells do not contain chloroplasts, but have smaller organelles called proplastids (from which a plastid develops; see below).